Ayden Favio and his brother, Noah Bresson, rake leaves Saturday for their grandma, Joan Bresson, in the Cathedral Historic District in Sioux Falls. In a summit Saturday, Mayor Mike Huether spoke of the importance of strengthening neighborhoods. / Emily Spartz / Argus Leader

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A dominant theme of Mayor Mike Huether’s third annual neighborhood summit was encouraging residents to reach out to city officials to resolve problems and strengthen neighborhoods.

In remarks Saturday about public safety, the mayor told an audience of about 100 at the Orpheum Theater, “The only way we’re going to fix this stuff is to be involved. Attack it head-on. Be on the offensive instead of defensive. Let our police team help you.”

With regard to other matters, though, Sally Tapken said while Huether might be talking the talk, others in the city aren’t walking the walk. Her reported concerns about maintenance at Terrace Park and potential animal neglect seem to fall on deaf ears.

“How do I begin if no one calls me back?” she said to Huether. “Where do I go? What do I do?”

Tapken said she did realize, though, that at the summit she was able to make her frustration known to the city’s leader.

“Do I think this is a great venue? Absolutely. It was very well worth my while to attend,” she said at the conclusion.

In a lengthy question-and-answer session that preceded roundtable discussions at the summit, Huether dealt with questions about affordable housing, parks, snow removal, bicycles, pools, mental health and the city’s aggressive approach to removing hazard trees after the April ice storm.

Huether also said he has seen the effects of bad neighbors, landlords, tenants and business owners on a neighborhood. “One bad neighbor can ruin the good of 99 percent.”

Challenges of getting the new events center built and relocating railroad tracks on the east bank of the Big Sioux River are insignificant compared to ensuring neighborhood stability, he said.

“The thing that has made me grow old fast is trying to deal with bad neighbors,” Huether said. “It seems the laws, codes and policies protect bad neighbors more than good ones.”

Lincoln County Commissioner Jim Schmidt lauded Huether for committing $500,000 of city money to affordable housing.

“Five hundred thousand dollars in today’s world is a small amount,” he acknowledged. “But it sends a message you recognize affordable housing is key to our future.”

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Huether called $500,000 “a fly on an elephant’s butt.” It won’t allow him to make substantial progress toward a dream to “at least provide safe, sanitary and decent housing for everybody in our town.

“But we’re not going to give up. It’s our greatest challenge as a community, putting an affordable roof over people’s heads,” he said.

Daunting, as well, is keeping abreast of the needs of a growing number of mentally ill people as Sioux Falls expands, according to Huether. He pointed out hoarding can be a major threat to a neighborhood’s stability, and he said the city used a grant to hire a caseworker to deal with code enforcement issues involving individuals with mental health problems.

“It’s hard to deal with. There isn’t enough money in the world to adequately address issues of mental health,” Huether said. “We have to address it and try to deal with it more aggressively. But it is a real beast.”

A component of the summit was celebrating neighborhood successes in the past year. A colorful mural on the wall enclosing tennis courts at Meldrum Park was dedicated last summer. It highlights multiculturalism. Nan Baker of the Sioux Falls Arts Council said taking on a public art project encourages neighborhood residents to build relationships with each other, and art allows people to contemplate what a neighborhood is and what it can become.

Pettigrew Heights volunteers used a small grant to fund a native grass landscaping project on the lawn at 11th Street and Grange Avenue, where the Harry Klesson sculpture “Obtuse” is displayed.

Susan Randall was co-director of the planting project. She said the networking aspect of the neighborhood summit, which allows people from across the city to share ideas such as the landscaping endeavor, is especially valuable.

“It’s just really great to be here,” she said. “So many people are talking about issues in their neighborhoods that resonate with most of us.”

Gigi Rieder recounted the Whittier neighborhood’s four-year cleanup program that resulted in 162 tons of trash being removed. She urged Huether to establish a category in the city budget to help fund such cleanups elsewhere “so every neighborhood gets to keep their city clean.”

She also said the annual summits reflect Huether’s ongoing commitment to Sioux Falls neighborhoods.

“He’s been very responsive in helping the neighborhoods,” Rieder said. “It’s great to have the city involved.”